Needle-loom stop motion



E. A, CUNNIFF NEEDLE LOOM STOP MOTION Filed Sept. 20, 1928 Sept. 24,1929.

2 Sheets-Sheet l- 0 /N VENTOR.

ATTORNEY E. A. CUNNIFF NEEDLE 'LooM STOP MOTION File d Sept. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l kw r Sept. 24, 1929. I

ATTORNEY Patented Sept, 24, 1929 UNITED dT'A'l'ES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD A. CUNNIFF, O15 THOMPSONVILLE, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO BIGELOW- HARTFORD CARPET CCMPAIQY, OF THOMPSONVILLE, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORA- TLOZQ' OF MASSACHUSETTS NEEDLE-1100M STOP MCTION Application filed September 20, 1828.

This invention relates to needle looms and is more particularly directed to means for stopping the loom when the selvag'e at one side of the cloth fails to be properly woven.

It is now the ordinary practice in needle looms to provide a needle for inserting a loop of weft or filling in th shed from one side of the loom and a salvage cord at the opposite side of the loom for engagement with the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle to form a proper selvage that side of the cloth. Should the selvage cord break or become exhausted and consequently fail to be passed through the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle, the resultvention consists in providing a needle loom with loom stopping mechanism which may be rendered effective to stop the loom upon the occurrence of a fault in the selvage cord or in the weft or filling presented by the needle, and in accordance vith the present invention detecting means are provided to act upon the weft or filling presented by the needle and effect loom stoppage should the weft or filling become slack, due either to breakage or exhaustion of the selvage cord or breakage of the weft or filling itself.

In accordance with the present invention, the loom is provided with a needlemounted at one side thereof to insert a loop of weft or fillin in the shed, and at the opposite side of the loom means are provided for inserting a selvage cord in the loop presented by the needle, as usual in needle looms, and associated with the needle and said means, devices are provided for effecting loom stop page should the selvage cord break or become exhausted and the loop of weft or filling be drawn back through the shed or part way through the shed as the needle retreats. In the present invention, a selvage needle is interposed between the supply of selvage cord and the edge of the cloth, to engage the loop of filling and hold it as the weft or filling Serial No. 307,242.

needle retreats, to thereby prevent the edge or selvage of cloth from being drawn i11- wardly.

l Vhere the selvage needle is employed as above stated, it is consequently necessary to arrest the salvage needle from engagement with the loop of weft or filling so that the detecting means which is controlled by the weft or filling may act to effect loom stop page when the weft or filling becomes slack.

The invention and novel features thereof will best be made clear from the following description and the accompanying drawings of one good form thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of suliicient portions of a needle loom with the present invention associated therewith to make clear the construction and operation thereof during normal weaving operations; and

Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view of a needle loom showing the relation of parts when the selvage cord has become broken or exhausted and the loop of weft or filling has consequently been drawn into the shed by the retreating movement of the needle.

The loom frame 1 may be of usual construction and only sufiicient portions thereof are illustrated to show the association of parts constituting the present invention. The shedding mechanism, which is typified by the parts 2 and 3, may be of any usual construction to form a shed in the warp threads a, as indicated in the drawings, and the warp threads a, as usual, pass through a reed 41 mounted upon the lay and operating to beat up the weft or filling laid in the shed.

Mounted at one side of the loom is the needle 5 through the eye 6 of which is passed the weft or filling thread 7) taken from a suitable supply, as usual in this type of loom. As shown in the present instance, the needle 5 is guided in its movement transversely of the warp threads by a guide 7 through which the needle may be reciprocated. The needle 5 is shown as mounted upon the reciprocating bar 8 which passes through the guide 7 to direct the needle in its transverse movements.

Rising from the guide 7 is the arm or de tector bracket- 9 to which is pivotally mounted at 10 the detector 11, the lower end portion 12 of which normally rests upon the weft or filling thread Z). Extending backwardly from the pivotal support of the detector is the detector arm 13 through which passes the connector 1a preferably provided with a number of openings 15 by which the length of the connect-or 14 may be adjusted by means of a pin 16. The lower end of the connector 14 is secured at 17 to the detector dog 18 pivotally mounted at 19 to a lug rising from the knock-off actuator 20, and connected to the knockoff actuator 20 at 21 is a train of mechanism extending to the loom knock-oil mechanism, which may be either a shipper or clutch, for effecting loom stoppage on movement of the loom knock-off actuator, as will more fully appear. It has not been deemed necessary herein to illustrate the entire train of mechanism constituting the knock-01f devices, as these are, or may be, of well-known construction now employed in ordinary looms, but in the present instance the knockoff actuator has pivoted thereto the lever 22 mounted at 23 and having a transmitter 2% leading to the knock-off devices.

The knock-off actuator 20 is associated with an operating-member 25 which is given a reciprocating movement in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, relative to the knock-off actuator, and connected with the operating member is an abutment 26 which is adapted to engage the too or point 27 of the knock-off dog when the latter is placed in the line of movement of the operating member shoulder 26. I

Reciprocating movement may be given to the operating member 25 by any usual or desired character of mechanism, but as indicated in the present instance of the invention this movement is effected by a cam 28 mounted on a shaft 29 and having a toe portion 30 adapted to engage a roll 31 mounted on a lever 32 which mav be )ivotallv mounted at its lower end and connected at its upper end, as at 33, with the operating member 25, the construction being such that during normal Weaving operations when the detector 11 rests against the taut weft or filling thread I), the "detector dog 18 will be held in its inoperative or non-stopping position and consequently not to be engaged by the shoulder 26 of the operating member, but should the detector 11 detect slack in the weft or filling thread Z) it will swing upon its pivotal support and permit the detector dog to present its'toe or shoulder 27 in the path of movement of the operating member, with the result that the knock-off actuator 20 to which the dog is pivotally mounted will be moved to actuate the train of mechanism to effect loom stoppage.

The means for inserting the selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle 5 may be of usual construction and as herein shown comprises the shut tle race 340i? generally arcuate shape in which the shuttle 35 is moved by means of the shuttle carrier fork 36. The shuttle 35 carries the selvage cord 37 which is to be passed through the loop 38 of the weft or filling thread Z) presented by the needle.

The shuttle carrier fork is mounted for swinging movement upon a shaft 39 which may be mounted in suitable bearings, such, for instance, as carried by the bracket 40 or other suitable support. Extending from the shaft 39 is the arm all to which is connected the rod 42, the opposite end of which is secured at 43 to an operating arm 44L pivotally mounted at 45 and carrying a roll at) which bears upon a cam 4r? secured to the cam shaft 29. A spring 18 is preferably employed for oscillating the shuttle carrier fork in one direction, while the cam 47 effects movement in the opposite direction. From the construction thus far described it will be apparent that when the loop of weft or filling thread Z) is presented by the needle 5 at the opposite side of the loom, the selvage cord shuttle 35 will be passed through the loop, so that as the needle 5 retreats the loop will be engaged by the selvage cord to efi ect the proper formation of a selvage.

Since the weft or filling thread Z) which is taken from a suitable supply is normally under tension, the present invention provides a selvage needle for engaging the loop of weft or filling thread, as indicated at 38, to temporarily hold such loop from being drawn backward into the shed, and to insure the proper formation of a uniform and straight selvage.

In the present instance of the invention, the selvage needle 19 is mounted upon a carrier 50 which telescopes into the sleeve 51 mounted upon the selvage needle rod 52, and interposed between the carrier 50 and sleeve 51 at its rear end is the spring 53, which, should the selvage needle be arrested in its movement for engagement with the loop of weft or filling, will yield and permit such operation.

In the present instance of the invention, the sleeve 51 is provided with a slot in itstop portion, as indicated at 54, and a pin 55 secured to the needle carrier 50 projects upwardly through the slot and forms a suitable abutment for one end of the spring 53, the other end of which bears against the opposite end portion ofthe sleeve 51, the construction being such that should the selvage needle be arrested in its movement to engage the loop of weft or filling, the spring will yield and permit the needle to remain idle.

The selvage needle rod 52 is pivotally connected at 56 to an operating lever 57 which may be conveniently mounted at 58 for rocking movement under the action of the selvage needle cam 59 and spring 60. As will be clear from the construction described, the active movement of the selvage needle to engage the loop of weft or filling is under the impulse of the spring 60, while its withdrawing movement is preferably controlled by the cam 59 which acts upon the roll 61 mounted on the lever 57.

As hereinbefore stated, the detector 11 is under the control of the weft or filling thread Z) and is normally held in inoperative position so long as the weft or filling thread Z) is taut, to thereby permit the loom to continue in operation, but should the filling thread Z) become slack it will permit the detector to move into loom stopping position, as herein before described, and effect loom stoppage.

Pivotally mounted on the loom frame between the selvage cord shuttle and the cloth selvage at 62 is the selvage needle stop 63, the rear end portion of Which normally overlies the selvage cord 37, with the result that so long as the selvage cord is intact the selvage needle stop will be held in a raised position by the selvage cord, but should the selvage cord 3'? become broken or exhausted, the selvage needle stop will drop into a position to arrest movement of the selvage needle 49 and prevent its engagement with the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle 5.

The selvage needle carrier is provided with a pin or stop 64; and the selvage needle stop has projecting therefrom a pin or abutment 65 which is adapted to engage the stop (34 when the selvage needle stop fails to be held in raised position by the intact selvage cord, thereby arresting movement of the selvage needle 49 and preventing its engagement with the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle 5.

It may be desirable at times to provide means for insuring either the proper raised position of the selvage needle stop 63 when intact selvage cord is present, or/and its proper lowered position when such selvage cord has become broken or exhausted. To this end the selvage needle stop 63 is provided with a pin 66 adapted to restupon a segment 67 adjustably connected with the shuttle yoke 36 as by means of the bolt 68, such condition taking place when the selvage needle stop has been held in raised position by the intact selvage cord as the shuttle moves to pass the selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling thread, the construction being such that when the intact selvage cord has lifted the selvage needle stop to its raised position and the selvage shuttle starts to pass the selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling thread, the pin 66 will ride upon the upper surface of the segment 67 and the loom will continue to run. Should the selvage cord 37, however, become broken or exhausted, it will fail to lift or hold the selvage needle stop in raised position, thereby presenting the pin or projection 65 into the path of movement of the stop or pin 64.-

- mounted on the needle carrier, and as the selvage shuttle is moved to pass the shuttle through the loop of weft or filling thread, the pin 66, being now in its lowered position, will ride upon the under surface of the segment 67, thereby insuring proper and continued engagement of the pin 64 and abutment or pin 65 to prevent movement of the needle intothe loop of weft or filling thread.

From the construction described as one good form or embodiment of the present invention, it will be apparent that the detector 11 is normally held in its inoperative or nonstopping position by the weft or filling thread Z) so long as such thread is taut, but when such thread becomes slack, the detector 11 will move to its operative or loom stopping position, and such slackness in the weft or filling thread 6 may be caused either by breakage of said thread itself or by breakage or exhaustion of the selvage cord.

Should the selvage cord be broken or exhausted when the loop of weft or filling b is presented by the needle 5, the selvage needle stop will drop and arrest the movement of the selvage needle 49 to prevent its engage-- ment with the loop of weft or filling b, and the loop of weft or filling will be drawn backward into the shed, as indicated in Fig. 2, thereby causing slack in the weft or filling thread Z) and loom stoppage as hereinbefore described.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. In a needle loom, the combination of a needle mounted at one side of the loom for inserting a loop of weft or filling in the shed, a selvage shuttle at the opposite side of the loom for passing a selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle, devices at the selvage shuttle side of the loom to engage the loop of weft or filling and hold the weft or filling taut until the intact selvage cord has been passed through the loop of weft or fillin s, means for preventing engagement of said devices with the loop of weft or filling should the selvage cord be broken or exhausted, a detector normally held in non-stopping position by the taut weft or filling and movable to stopping position on detection of slack weft or filling, and means rendered operative to stop the loom on the occurrence of slack in the weft or filling.

2. In a needle loom, the combination of a needle for inserting the weft or filling in the shed, a selvage shuttle for passing a selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle, a selvage needle for engaging the loop of filling, a detector held in non-stopping position by the taut weft or filling and movable to stopping position on detection of slack weft or filling, means for preventing the selvage needle from engaging the loop of weft or filling upon the occurrence of a fault in the selvage cord, and means rendered operative to stop the loom when the resulting slack occurs in the weft or filling.

3. In a needle loom, the combination of a needle mounted at one side of the loom for passing a loop of weft or filling thread through the shed. a selvage shuttle for passing a selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle, a selvage needle, operating means for passing the selvage needle through the loop of weft or filling, a detector normally held in non-stopping position by the taut weft or filling and movable to a stopping position on the occurrence of slack in the weft or filling, and means to prevent engagement of the selvage needle with the loop of weft or filling upon the occurrence of a fault in the selvage cord.

4. In a needle loom, the combination of a needle for inserting a loop of weft or filling in the shed, means for passing a selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling presented by the needle, means for engaging and holding the loop of weft or filling at the cloth selvage, a detector normally held in non-stopping position by the taut weft or filling and movable to loom stopping position upon detection of slack in the weft or filling, and devices for preventing engagement of the loop holding means with the loop of weft or filling on the occurrence of a fault in the selvage cord that slack may occur in the weft or filling as the needle is withdrawn and the loom be stopped.

5. In a needle loom,the combination of a needle for inserting weft or filling in the shed from one side of the loom, a selvage cord for engagement withthe loop of weft or filling at the opposite side of the loom in the formation of the cloth selvage, a selvage needle for holding the loop of weft or filling taut. a selvage needle stop for preventing the selvage needle from engagement with the loop of weft or filling in case the selvage cord is broken or exhausted, and means rendered operative bv slack in the weft or filling thread to effect loom stoppage.

6. In a needle loom, the combination of a needle for inserting a loop of weft or filling in the shed from one side of the loom, means for inserting a selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling at the opposite side of the loom, a selvage needle for engaging the loop of weft or filling to hold the filling taut until the selvage cord is engaged with the loop of Weft or filling, operating devices for the selvage needle, means for preventing the selvage needle from engagement with the loop of weft or filling on the occurrence of afault in the selvage cord, a detector normally held in non-stopping position by engagement with the taut Weft or filling and movable to stopping position on the occurrence of slack in the weft or filling, a detector dog connected to thedetector, and an operating member for engaging and moving the detector dogwhen the detector is permitted to move to stopping position by the occurrence of slack in the weft or filling.

7. In a needle loom, the combination of a needle mounted at one side of the loom for inserting a loop of weft or filling in the shed, means at the opposite side of the loom for inserting a selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling, a selvage needle for engaging the loop of weft or filling, a selvage needle stop held in inoperative position by the intact selvage cord and movable to needle stopping position upon the occurrence of a fault in the selvage cord to prevent the selvage needle from engagement with the loop of weft or filling, and means for stepping the loom when the selvage needle is prevented from engaging the loop of weft or filling.

8. In a needle loom, the combination of a needle mounted at one side of the loom for inserting a loop of weft or filling in the shed, means at the opposite side of the loom for inserting selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling, a selvage needle for engaging the loop of weft or filling, a selvage needle stop held in inoperative position by the intact selvage cord and movable to needle stopping position upon the occurrence of a fault in the selvage cord, interengaging means between the selvage needle and selvage needle stop to prevent the selvage needle from engagement with the loop of weft or filling, and means for stopping the loom when the selvage needle is prevented from engaging the loop of weft or filling.

9. In a needle loom, the combination of a needle mounted at one side of the loom for inserting a loop of weft or filling in the shed, means at the opposite side of the loom for inserting a selvage cord through the loop of weft or filling, a selvage needle for engaging the loop of weft or filling, a selvage needle stop held in an inoperative position by the intact selvage cord and movable to needle stopping position upon the occurrence of a fault in the selvage cord to prevent the selvage needle from engagement with the loop of weft or filling, a. detector normally held in inoperative position by the taut weft or filling, and means connected to the detector for effecting loom stoppage on the occurrence of slack in the Weft or filling due to breakage or exhaust-ion of the selvage cord.

v In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

EDlVARD A. GUNNIFF. 

